Devices have been previously developed for submerging a fishing line during trolling operations which typically include a planing body supported on a wire frame and a weight positioned on the wire frame below the level of the planing body. A ring is slidably carried on the wire frame for connection to a fishing line and when the ring is positioned in a bend of the wire frame, the trolling planer dives in the water carrying the fishing line and hook line downwardly to a desired depth. When a fish strikes the hook line, the ring slides to a front bend of the wire frame allowing the trolling planer to come to the surface of the water.
The wire frame is typically attached to the planing body by means of two free legs having threaded ends secured in longitudinally spaced openings in the planing body by means of nuts tightened on opposite sides of the planing body. In other instances, the legs of the wire frame may be affixed to the planing body such as by welding. Due to the planing device being occasionally dropped and to the wobbling vibratory type action of the trolling planer when in the water, the problem occurs that the nuts which affix the threaded legs of the wire frame become loosened. This results in increasing relative twisting movement between the wire frame and planing body and increasing wobbling vibrations of the trolling planer when in the water eventually leading to complete separation of the nuts and loss of the planing troller. Furthermore, with the nuts loosened, relative movement between the wire frame and planing body results in the loss of proper alignment therebetween. Misalignment tends to cause the trolling planer to run to the side and flip to the surface in use.
Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide an improved trolling planer for submerging a fishing line of the type having a planing body supported on a wire frame wherein a stabilizer means is provided to restrain relative movement between the wire frame and the planing body.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a trolling planer of the type having a planing body supported by a wire frame wherein the connection therebetween is stabilized so as to maintain the alignment therebetween.